[A]s a consequence of this particular piece of UK case law, the UK Patent Office UK-IPO had established a practice of flatly rejecting patent claims to computer program products contrary to the practice of the EPO. Last year, five companies, namely Astron Clinica Limited, Cyan Holdings Plc, Inrotis Technologies Limited, Software 2000 Limited and Surf Kitchen, Inc., INTERNAL LINKhad appealed against this restrictive practice.

Now, and this seems to be quite surprising, the table appears to be turned again: On the well-known EXTERNAL LINKIPKat Blog, EXTERNAL LINKMr David Pearce reports that the Honourable Mr Justice Kitchin has ruled yesterday that the current UK Patent Office practice of flatly rejecting patent claims to computer program products is wrong.

[...]

Mr Pearce characterises himself as being quite amazed by the judgment because before the recent judgement he had been convinced that, under the system of UK case law, there was no room for manoeuver after Aerotel/Macrossan, and he asks the important question as to whether the UK-IPO can simply all go back to falling into line with the EPO, or if they will judge that this one is worth going further on. ¶

[I]n conclusion then, Kitchin J found that the appeals should be allowed. Each application concerned a computer related invention where the examiner had allowed claims to, in effect, a method performed by running a suitably programmed computer and to a computer programmed to carry out the method. ¶

[I]t is important to know this because we will always face pressure, from those who are powerful and would like to take away our freedom, to surrender our freedom—and they frequently offer us something attractive in exchange. For instance, B’liar wanted to abolish the Rights of Englishmen, and to serve his American master, Bush, faithfully; so he offered Britons “protection” from this or that, plus the imagined idea that he influences his master on their behalf through the “special relationship”. ¶

This development might be difficult to reverse. Another part of the world has gone mad by permitting people to own mathematics and charge money for respective use. █

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“Any market needs clear rules and balanced enforcement. The software market needs clarity when it comes to ownership. Software patents have turned a clear set of rules, based on copyright, into unclear ones. The patent industry has become too powerful and seeks to increase its wealth at the expense of the real software industry. We believe that the role of government is to respect the needs of the market, not promote the interests of the few.”

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